Practical Paideia

by Lindsey Ralls

This morning, our chapel speaker didn’t use any Power Point slides. She explained that while she normally loved a good slide show, she wanted us all to read our passages from our physical Bibles, rather than just relying on the screen. She talked about William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English over 500 years ago, while fleeing for his life. If someone went to all that trouble, so that we could have this book in our own language, it’s important for us to remember that. Tyndale recognized the great value that comes with having the word of God in your own language. It was a good reminder of what a treasure the physical book is; which is something that can easily be lost when just reading the words on the screen. Primary sources are important. Something that is primary is not derived from something else, It is of first rank, importance and value. We use the term primary school to describe the schooling that comes first for a child. We talk about primary colors when we are referring to colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors. Devotionals, commentaries, podcasts, and sermons can all be beneficial but the best and most important source will always be Scripture itself. 

The title of this website is Practical Paideia. Paideia is defined as the process of establishing our children in the traditions of a society with the hope of forming and maintaining a strong, flourishing culture. This week I was thinking about how we don’t have a word for the person who believes in and is shaped by the principles of paideia. A Christian is someone who is deeply committed to or shaped by the ideals of Christianity. A musician is someone who enjoys playing music. A physician is someone who practices medicine. What then, do we call someone who is committed to, shaped by the principles of, and practices paideia? Well it turns out there is no word for that kind of person. 

So, I asked ChatGPT. 

They suggested the word Paideian, a word they clearly made up on the spot. As I’m writing it, it’s got a red squiglly line under it telling me this isn’t a word. BUT, now the word has become part of their algorithm…

An hour later, I opened ChatGPT up again and asked it to define a Paideian. Here’s what it said:

A paideian (though not a widely established term) could be used to describe a person who embodies or advocates for the principles of paideia—a classical Greek concept that emphasizes the holistic education and cultivation of an individual, blending intellectual, moral, and cultural development.Interesting.

I waited thirty more minutes and asked it the same question again, how do you define a Paideian? The response changed to this:

A “Paideian” refers to someone or something related to paideia, an ancient Greek concept of education and cultural development. … In short, a “Paideian” is a person who is shaped by or aligned with the principles of paideia. Notice it removed “though not a widely establish term” from the definition. It also removed the word “could“. At this point, the algorithm felt it had occurred enough (three times), that it was a real thing. And suddenly, a word was created. 

Now, while that was kind of a fun exercise, at the root of it, it’s kind of terrifying. ChatGPT is not the Bible, or even William Tynsdale. It’s not a primary source! Yet, this morning, when I googled “what is a paideian” Google gave me an answer. Yesterday, it told me that wasn’t a word. 

Primary sources have never been more valuable than they are today. In a world where you can create “truth” in a matter of minutes, knowing the source of something is crucial.